Estonia and Russia: More Cooperation or Growing Tensions?

As one of the few EU Member States that has both a land and sea border with Russia, Estonia is considered to be an experienced actor in Russian affairs, especially from a small-state perspective. Estonia’s contemporary strategic vision of Russia is influenced by Russia’s aggressive stance in recent decades, Estonia’s painful historical experience with Russia, the challenges of social segregation between Estonians and Russians and potential security threats emanating from Russia. Since the 2014 annexation of Crimea and ongoing war in the Eastern Ukraine, Estonia has committed to using all of its diplomatic and media capabilities to warn Member States within the EU and NATO about Russia’s aggressive ambitions and activities. How does this anti-Kremlin radicalism influence Estonia’s position in the EU? While in the past this attitude has found more critics than sympathisers, following the Crimean annexation it is more readily accepted, even when there are many other Member States and interest groups that would prefer a softer and more cooperation-oriented relationship with Russia.